christmas card preview

I finally decided on our lovely Christmas card from Shutterfly. I wanted to share several pictures from our November photo session and this was a perfect card to do just that. I like the simplicity of the card and cheerful red and green color scheme. The card will be printed in a matte finish on premium stock paper. I can't wait to get them in the mail and send them out to family and friends. Thanks Shutterfly!

Family Wall Red Christmas Card

Shop Shutterfly for elegant custom Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

wardrobe fit for the royals: bridal shower

We've already attended the engagement party for will and kate, which of course was wonderful. Now, we are all ready to shower the princess bride with gifts. (Where do you think a prince and his fiance register?)

Time to be prim and proper. The ladies will likely be having tea and scones and unwrapping lovely packages. This outfit seems appropriate: 

{cloaked in roses jacket from anthropologie}

{winter rose bustier dress by j. crew}

{crystal vine pearl drop earring by ann taylor}

high, low: ruffly strappy sandal

{banana republic chiffon ruffle high heel - $150}

{bp. platinum medina sandal - $69.95}

wardrobe fit for the royals: dressing for will & kate's wedding festivities

How do I know the newly engaged prince and soon-to-be princess of Wales? Well, I don't. I am just pretending. That is what blogging is all about, right? Imagining up scenarios in which we would dress, decorate or shop for things we can't afford nor do we need. To this end, I figure I will need four new looks (at minimum) for the upcoming nuptial festivities: engagement party, bridal shower, rehearsal dinner, and wedding.

{congrats william & kate!}

Let's tackle that engagement party first. Something* colorful, classy and young:

{printed ruched jersey dress by robert cavalli from nordstrom}

{be dazzled earrings by kate spade} 

{badgley mischka keeper pump from piperlime}

Stay tuned for the bridal shower...

*Please note I can not actually afford any of these items. Not even close. Remember the imagining part. 

pickin' fly cards from shutterfly

So, we had our fall/holiday photos taken last Saturday (a very blustery day) as I mentioned in a previous post in The Loop. The next task at hand once you've taken holiday photos and selected just the perfect pictures is placing them in the perfect card.

I've always had a great experience shopping with Shutterfly. Now that I think about it, I've ordered tons from Shutterfly over the last year:

• I ordered my son's 1st birthday party invites,  
• a one year photo book,
• Space Age Thank You cards,
• and a 2010 wall calendar. 

Here are some Shutterfly holiday cards that I have an eye on for the aforementioned holiday pics:

{i love this retro metro card with the cheery green and red "ribbon" look.}

{oh what fun would be oh so perfect for a black and white photo}

{what is great about the full of love card is that you can use an entire photo and obstruct very little of it in the final look.}

{this year in pictures new year's card is an adorable way of recapping 2010.}

Decisions, decisions. Stay tuned for the final choice!

sew & support schools: oliver + s

Once again, Twitter has helped me to discover a simply adorable company, Oliver + S, which designs sewing patterns for children. Best part? They are doing a promotion supporting our nation's neediest schools (education is my day job and a cause near and dear to my heart). 


Purchase a pattern from Oliver + S's site and they will donate 15 percent of the sale to a school of your choosing.

{how cute are the finished pattern illustrations?}

Great idea!

lucky us: fave lucky mag girls are still around

I opened up my latest issue of Lucky magazine and came upon a different editor and missing back page illustrated feature.


The times they have a-changed.


Founders of the magazine, Kim France and Andrea Linnett, are no longer with the glossy. As a subscriber of almost 10 years (can't say I was in on that very first issue), I am sad to see them go BUT excited to find them in new ventures.

{I want to be her! Debut Post: Transitional SoHo Girl}

Linnett launched a new site this week that features a familiar sketch--one of herself drawn by childhood friend and designer of Martin Clothes Anne Johnston Albert. I want to be her! is an ode to stylish women--those on the street or ones Linett imagines. The details of the styling are described as captions to the illustrated lady and of course, there is a shopping guide to use in outfitting yourself. 


An article in Slate by France posted Monday gave a look at beauty products worth shelling out cash for (now that they are no longer gratis for her). I love the wit and candor of France's recs. On mascara: "it's not necessary to spend serious cash in this category. You really can find everything you need at the drugstore." And, "I require makeup that takes no serious skill or patience to apply." Amen sister.


Hope that the new ventures are exciting--we'll be reading!

location, location, location

I am really throwing caution to the wind and mixing it up for the aforementioned holiday photos. Not only will we not be wearing a stitch of red or one ounce of formal attire. We won't be in a studio, let alone in a park. 

No folks. We are hitting the streets and crusin' The Loop. You just can't take the "urban" out of the "suburbanite."

Possible back drops:

{moonrise hotel}

{the tivoli movie theatre}

{the pin-up bowl}

Looking forward to what is dreamed up for this photo shoot.

holiday pics

We are preparing for holiday pictures. My son is almost 18 months so it is pretty good timing. We tackle a milestone age and Christmas in one. Last year, we used JcPenney and did the traditional red sweater, plaid shirt ensemble. It worked well because he was only six months old and it is hard to predict what will happen with a baby. The result was a set of decent photos for not a lot of money. (Gotta love the coupons!)

This year, we've stepped it up a notch and will be using the same photographer that we did for his one year photos. 

Here's a peek at the duds (--if we were all getting new ones. Note - As usual, only the kiddo actually owns an item below. The others are "similar to" what we'll be wearing):

1) The kid...

{patterned cable-knit sweater from old navy}

+

2) The mom

{shawl zip sweater from the gap}

+

3) the dad

{exposed seam crew neck sweater from banana repulic}

All with dark wash denim jeans and some casual shoes. 

The setting... that's up next. Stay tuned!

lovin' lonny: hipster lifestyle & home decor online mag

I love when Twitter hits one out of the park. Thanks for suggesting Lonny! I am now following and officially addicted to Lonny, an online magazine dedicated to stylish interiors and trends that we all should be clued into.


For instance, this is lovely...

{of the moment - geometric: Lonny blog post}

The site also shares decorating inspiration by room:

{precious dining space featured in fall Lonny issue}

Also, crushing on the name inspired by LONdon and NY (New York). Well done!

puppy love

So, I had posted previously that I really liked this PB Kids costume:

{dalmatian from Pottery Barn Kids}

Here's what I ended up with after doing a little DIY and using some of this Parents mag tutorial.

Have to say the subject is pretty cute with or without the costume :)

O Canada!

For one of the friendliest countries I have ever visited...


New Canada maple leaf Etsy design:

{canada maple leaf red and white gingham shirt from

little happy camper on Etsy}

Ode to my neighbors to the North!